


A Moment Of Faith

by Dreamelilly018



Series: A Change Of A Lifetime [3]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Childhood Friends, Dadrien, F/M, Single Parents, dadrien au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-27
Updated: 2020-05-27
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:42:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24397480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dreamelilly018/pseuds/Dreamelilly018
Summary: There is only so many late night wake a man can have before they reach their breaking point. Adrien is close to his when his friend, Alya Césaire, makes a whirlwind appearance back in his life.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Alya Césaire, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Gabriel Agreste | Papillon | Hawk Moth
Series: A Change Of A Lifetime [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1736371
Kudos: 14





	A Moment Of Faith

“I gave you a valid reason, Father! I am going to raise my son and daughter without your interference!”

Gabriel Agreste stared at his son with disbelief as he stood in the entrance area of his son’s apartment. His twenty-one-years-old son had yet met with the harsh realities of being a young and single father and going to school at the same time. “Adrien,” the fashion icon said in his sternest voice, lips pressing firmly together. “You can’t possibly know how much a burden these children will be in the next coming years.”

Adrien opened his mouth to respond but got silenced as the wail of Louis caught his attention. Pushing past his father, the college student made a beeline to the children’s’ bedroom, carefully picking up the three-month-old from his crib. “Shh, Louis,” he crooned softly as he took him over to the changing table. “Daddy has you, sonny. You don’t have to cry anymore, Louis. Daddy has you.”

“You can’t coddle him,” Gabriel remarked as Adrien threw away his son’s dirty diaper. “How is he going to go anywhere in life if you coddle him?”

“Louis and Louise are babies!” Adrien pressed the last strap of the diaper into place and lifted his son up. “They aren’t being coddled. I am meeting their needs promptly and being a better father than you.”

“Adrien, th-“

“Have you ever given a second to hold Louis or Louise?”

Gabriel rolled his eyes but sighed, holding his arms out as Adrien placed his son into his hands. “He looks like you,” the fashion icon commented as he gazed at his grandson as he let out a yawn. “With his frizzy blonde wisps and emerald eyes.”

“Louise takes more after Grandfather Richard with her black hair and blue eyes,’ Adrien commented, glancing at her father. “Now do you see why I don’t want to have some stranger raise my children twenty-four seven.”

“I am doing just fine by myself at the moment,” Adrien protested before his father could go on. “I don’t see how I can change anything.”

The fashion icon paused, taking a deep breath before glancing up at his son. “Your mother and I once thought that way too, Adrien,” he began, eyes falling onto his grandson. “That was before you fell very sick when you were six months. Your grandmother had to fly from Syria where she now resided with her second husband and help us. Between my extended hours in the office and your mother's budding acting career, we were floundering and losing control. I don’t want this to happen to you.”

“I will be fine for now,” the young father said, taking his son from his father and putting him back into his crib when Louis had fallen back to sleep. “I just need to survive until the summer when I will have more time to focus on the twins and working.”

Gabriel Agreste gave a curt nod, silent. “Adrien, son, just remember this. A man cannot be an island and need to find a village to thrive as a village is needed to raise a child that will thrive. Without proper assistance, parent and child will suffer and flounder on their journey.”

Stepping out into the hallway, he paused. “I will always have my door open if you need help with the twins or any expenses. Don’t be afraid to ask for assistance.”

_______________

The college student felt like he couldn’t breathe after opening the child care bill for his son and daughter. Looking at the small, black numbers, Adrien Agreste felt his stomach drop. It couldn’t be this expensive to pay for childcare for his children. There had to be some mistake.

“This is so expensive,” he muttered to himself as he glanced into the living room where his children were having tummy time. “How can someone charge almost fifteen hundred dollars for an entire month of child care? Even Brasiley doesn’t charge this much for the weekend care?"

The young father knew that raising two children while in college would be expensive and even with his large savings from his modeling years, there would be times of finical trouble. However, he never expected to get such a massive bill from Louis and Louise’s daycare. Before the twins were born, Adrien had made sure to do proper research and talk to daycare providers about the usual monthly price of two children under their care. All of them said it would be under a thousand dollars with snacks and meals included.

“Dammit,’ he groaned as she sank into the chair next to the dining table. Hands resting on his knees, the former model held his head in his hands. “There is no way that I can keep spending money like this each month.”

Setting the paper on the table, Adrien sighed. His father had warned that it would be hard to raise to children by himself with any assistance and went out of his way to offer to have someone to take care of Louis and Louise at the mansion. “That would never work,” he thought out loud, getting to his feet as the timer went off. It was time for the twins to stop tummy time. “If I allowed Father to have someone raise them in the mansion, he would just make it like my childhood all over. Louis and Louise are going to have a good childhood and not one of isolation like mine.”

Cradling his daughter in his arms, Adrien moved over to one of the two baby swings in the small living room. Buckling his daughter in, the former model relaxed slightly. Going to the daycare she and her brother attended was one of the better ones in town. They had a Child Developlist come in twice a week to work with the children three and under and help them reach their milestones and had an extra area where sick children could be taken care of instead of being sent or staying home.

“I can call my Father,” he said to Louis as he took him over to the changing mat. “If I do that, you and Louis can still attend without any struggle on my part. He already offered to pay for a nanny. Maybe this means he will take up the expenses for the daycare while I pay Brasiley the two-fifty each month.”

Strapping the sticky tabs on his son’s diaper, Adrien shook his head. He couldn’t ask his father to pay for the child care expenses. All that would do would show how he struggled fatherhood while being in college. It would also give the fashion icon a bigger reason to pressure him into letting a nanny raise Louis and Louise in the mansion while he attended classes.

Asking his father for help wouldn’t benefit him but removing Louis and Louise from their current daycare wouldn’t benefit him. Sighing and shoulders slumping, Adrien realized that he would have to bear the grunt of it and talk to the daycare provider. Maybe she would be willing to allow him to pay weekly to make the bill more manageable than one large shocking amount at the end of the month.

Once his son was done being changed, Adrien settled him into his swing and collapsed into his recliner. Sighing, he stared up at the popcorned pattern celling. Sitting there, the college student gave a brief nod. There was no way he was going to turn to his father. Even if it caused him a lot of stress, he would find a way to get through this with no help.

Reclining back into the chair, he let the soft music from the swings lull him into a light slumber, unknowingly letting the first crack appeared in his calm façade.

_______________

Adrien, covering his ears, paced along the middle of the nursery, squeezing his eyes shut. Even with his ears covered and eyes closed, the wailing cries of Louis and Louise seem to vibrate through his eardrums and give him a rattling headache.

They had been crying for the past two hours and had only just gotten worse.

That was just the tip of the iceberg that was driving him crazy. He should have been in bed and fast asleep by now. His morning class would not be easy if he didn’t sleep soon. Though he knew that it was his responsibility to care for his children, he was close just leaving them to cry themselves to sleep.

Would that even work though?

“Shut up,” the blonde former model hollered, throwing his hands into the air. “Just fucking shut up already, you two!”

His yelling appeared to be fruitless as it just caused their wails to go louder. It radiated off the walls and filled the small room.

“What do you want from me?” demanded in an angered voice, face starting to grow hot. “I have tried to feed, change, and rock both of you! Just shut up and go to bed!”

Stalking angrily over to the pink rimmed crib of Louise’s bed, he placed his hand on the railing. He stood there, glaring down at her as big tears welled in the corners of her eyes and fell down her, angry red face. She squirmed in her bedding and smacked her tiny fists into her mattress, demanding for her unknown needs to be met. From the other side of the room, Louis soon joined in screaming louder, trying to outmatch his younger sister.

Feeling a scream building in his throat, Adrien turned away from the cribs, gripping onto his blond tousles angrily. He was starting to reach his breaking point and just wanted to make them be quiet. At this rate, the young father would have the police at his doors asking what was wrong. He didn't even want to think of how they would react to a red-faced male answering the door while two babies screamed in the background. They could easily assume the worse and ask questions later.

"I can't take this anymore," he bellowed as he stopped in front of the changing table. Hands falling from his side, he gripped onto the edge of the crib before he could even blink the furniture was turned upside down on the floor, and silence had fallen upon the room. "Holy Shit!"

Yanking his arms back as if they were burned, Adrien felt sick to his stomach. Emerald eyes starting at the furniture and glanced at the whimpering forms of his four-month-old son and daughter, the young father sank to the floor, astonished. If he had stayed a moment longer looking at Louise's crib with her screaming, her crib could have been the piece of furniture that got turned over. It could have gotten turned over with her in it!

Getting shakily to his feet and moving the changing table out of the way, Adrien stepped out into the hallway and went into the kitchen. On the white counter, his schoolbag was located. Stopping in front of it, he dug around and until he found his cellphone. Punching in Brasiley's number, he waited as the phone rang.

The phone barely made it halfway through the second ring before the tired voice of his babysitter answered.

“Mr. Agreste?” Brasiley Anderson asked, half asleep. “Is something wrong?”

“I’m sorry for calling you this late,” apologized Adrien once he saw it was one in the morning. He knew that Brasiley was a high school student who had class in a few hours but he was running out of ideas. “I know that it’s a school night but if I double your hourly pay, could you come over for an hour or two?”

“At one in the morning?” asked Brasiley as the rustling of sheets was heard. “Is everything alright? Are Louis and Louise okay?”

“The twins are okay,” assured Adrien, gripping onto the counter to steady himself. “I just got a call from a friend of mine who needs help and I can’t think of anyone else who could watch the twins. If you can’t, I understand.”

“Just give me a few minutes.” Brasiley stifled a yawn as she answered. “I need to leave a note for my mother and pack a bag for tomorrow morning and my school bag. Once I’m done with that, I will be on my way.”

“Thank you so much, Brasiley.” Adrien smiled softly. With Brasiley here, he could step out for an hour or two before returning home without the twins causing him to lose his temper. “I will unlock the door for you and just come in.”

“I’m in my car now and will be there in about ten minutes.”

“Thank you...” Hanging up, Adrien sat the phone down on the counter before heading to the front door and unlocking it. Once the front door was unlocked, he went to grab his coat and get his shoes on, exhausted.

He hoped things would get better but didn't know that the second cracked appeared. Soon his facade was going to break.

__________

Adrien woke up to a horrible pounding in his temple. It was two steady thumps that caused the young father to grip his head as he let out a rough cough and his stomach churned violently. Finally the pounding was bearable enough for him to blink open his eyes and was meant with the pale milky dawn light of a Thursday morning. Fighting back a groan, he flinched as there was another thundering knock before being followed by two softer thumps. Wincing, Adrien briefly wondered if it was his landlord coming to collect this month’s rent. Or was it the maintenance person who was coming around some time that week to look at the leak of the shower?

Either way, he wasn’t that amused to be awakened at five in the morning. Throwing the quilt off of him, the twenty-one-years-old got gingerly to his feet, swaying as he stood to his full height. Seeing the room swim before him, Adrien clutched onto the headboard behind him as the meek voice of Brasiley called softly through the apartment, looking for him.

Realizing what the date was, the young father looked downward. It had been his high school babysitter making the noise. While he had an extra key made for his apartment for her for emergencies, it had been expressed for her to knock and wait for him to open the door. It was only if he didn’t answer the door after five minutes that she may use the key to enter and look for him.

“I’m in my bedroom,” he called back, voice cracking as he shakily met his babysitter halfway down the hall. “Sorry for making you wait so long. I overslept my alarm and running a bit behind schedule today, I fear.”

“Mr. Agreste?” she asked, blue eyes looking him up and down. “Are you okay? You don’t look that good.”

“I am feeling a bit under the weather,” he replied honestly.

“Do you want me to get you a glass of water?” asked Brasiley as she held her arms out, prepared to catch her employer as he swayed. “Or make you something to eat?”

“Can you check on the twins for me?” requested Adrien. “I don’t know if they are awake yet or are still sleeping.”

“I...I will be right back...” Glancing once more at Adrien, the high schooler disappeared into the nursery. Exiting from the nursery, she walked into the living room to find her boss on her phone. “They are still asleep, sir.”

“Thank you, Mr. Joshua,” he said, cutting the call off and placing his cellphone onto the counter. “Thank you, Brasiley...” Walking over to her, he sat down. “I called in sick today and am going to stay home. I will pay you for today since you were going to use one of your two free days this week to watch the twins.”

“Okay, sir.” Going over to the front entrance, she slid her flats on and grabbed her messenger bag. “You have my phone number if you need to get ahold of me, Mr. Agreste.”

“I might need you tomorrow,” he agreed as he sat up slightly, grimacing at the pale light of the room. “I’m going to call my family’s doctor and make an appointment. Depending on the time, I might need you to watch Louis and Louise for a few hours for me to go to my appointment and get my medicine.”

Giving a short, curt nod, Brasiley turned to the front entrance. “Make sure to drink a lot of fluids and get some rest,” she advised before stepping out into the hallway. “Ummm.. See you tomorrow maybe.” Glancing once more at her pale employer, the high school babysitter closed the door behind her, footsteps fading as she walked down the hallway.

With Brasiley gone and Louise and Louis still asleep, Adrien sluggishly stumbled back towards his bedroom. Just as he was about to settle back into his bed, the first wail of the twins drove him back to his feet. “I’m coming,” he grumbled between yawns. “I’m coming.”

Opening the door to the nursery, he winced. With the cries of his children and his sickly state, Adrien felt like his head was going to split open. Gritting his teeth and picking up his son, he stared at the empty crib for an extended period of time until the pain of Louis tugging on his hair pulled him back. Shaking his head, the young father went to the living room to change his son and feed him before tending to Louise’s needs.

****

It was hard to say how long he had been awake when the two-hour marker had passed. Soon after the twins were fed, changed, and settled into the swings, the maintenance person had shown up. Even if it was only the young father alone in his apartment, he would not be able to sleep or stay where he couldn’t see what was happening. By the time, the maintenance worker had fixed everything and left, it was well past lunchtime and the sun was far over the horizon, giving the kitchen a small glare that made him dizzy.

The former model’s stomach let out a low grumble as he leaned against the counter, trying to keep himself upright. Between the dizziness and his hunger, Adrien found it hard to pay attention to his surroundings and found himself staring up at the ceiling of his kitchen. “W-what?” he gasped, body throbbing as he sat upright.

Somehow with his strength fading away and him starting to feel the ache of fatigue settle into his bones, Adrien found enough determination to get to his feet and stumble his way to his bed. The next time he came too, he realized it was late evening now and the twins had been by themselves for a few hours without attention. Staggering to the kitchen and pausing in front of the cupboard where she stored the baby bottles, he realized how hard it was for him just to get out of bed.

That was when it hit him. This was what his father had warned him a few months prior when the twins had been five weeks old. He had finally lost his footing and had no community to fall back on. While he had Ambre and her family, Sebastian, and Nathalie, they all had lives of their own and couldn’t drop everything to come to him just because he was sick and had almost no strength to care for his son and daughter.

Looking down at the counter, the young father found his cellphone where he had put it before. While he knew they may not answer, it wouldn’t hurt to reach out to someone and leave a message in a hope they called back.

Turning it on, he began with calling Audrey first. She had recently become a stay at home mother with Riley and would be the easiest to reach.

The phone rang four times before going to voicemail. Leaving a brief one asking for her to call him back, he hung up and tried another person. Then another and another. When he called, he had managed to get ahold of Sesbiasian but before he was able to get a word one, his former bodyguard had explained that he was unable to talk because his little sister was out of town and he watching her little ones. After muttering a weak attempt of goodbye, he called Nathalie and Ambre one after another and was met with radio silence. Then, as one last desperate plea, he tried Chloe, as she was in town to visit Sabrina after she finished her final exams for the summer classes.

When he didn’t manage to reach any, he looked down at the last person on his contacts, Alya Césaire. She was the only other person who he saw regularly as a child and saw her as a friend at the time. However, after she got accepted into the United States as an international student, they have had lost touch.

Would she be willing to come and help him with the twins? Or would that be too much to ask of someone who he hasn’t had any contact in months?

Seeing no other options, he hit the call button and waited with a bated breath as it began to ring. If Alya didn’t pick up, Adrien had no clue what he would do. In the state he was in, there would be no way he was able to meet the needs of the twins.

“Adrien?” Alya questioned upon answering. “It’s been a long time. What’s up?”

He found himself lost for words. How was he supposed to ask for her to drop everything and come help him with his children? She didn’t even know that he was a father and for all he knew, Alya was still in the United States.

“Adrien?” Alya repeated when he didn’t answer. “Adrien, are you there?”

“I’m sorry for calling you out of nowhere,” he said, sliding to the floor of his kitchen. “I…”

“What is wrong?” asked Alya, sounding worried. “I know that you wouldn’t call me just to chat.”

“Are you in Paris?”

“Yes and have been for the past three months.”

“I-“ He paused to catch his breath. “If I give you an address of my place would you come over?”

Alya remained quiet as a soft yell of, “Mama,” on the other side of heard and his childhood friend hushing the young voice. “I am busy tonight but I can tomorrow.”

Adrien’s shoulders slumped, giving up. “O-okay,” he said.

“Hang on...” Alya grew quiet as a door was closed. “Why did you call me for, Adrien? I mean it.”

“I just need some help,” he explained, stressed. “I have a son and daughter now and I need help. I’m barely holding on, Alya. I just need-“

“You need someone to lean on,” she said softly, sighing. “I can’t come now but I will be there first thing in the morning, Sunshine boy.”

Adrien let out a sigh of relief as he closed his eyes. He never thought the old childhood nickname, “Sunshine Boy” would bring him the reprieve that it was now. “Thank you, Alya,” he said, smiling faintly. “You don’t know how much I needed to talk to you these past few months.”

“Put the twins down for bed and get some sleep yourself, Sunshine Boy,” she advised softly. “I will be there first thing in the morning and will be bringing breakfast.”’

“See you then,” Adrien said as Alya hung up on her end. “See you then.”

Powering his cellphone down and placing it on the cellphone beside him, the young father finally let the frustration leave from his body. All these days of him keeping his facade of calm and strength had finally faded away to leave him scrambling for some form of help and knowing tomorrow would be the first step into a better foundation, he couldn't wait.

Using the counter as a support, he rose to his feet and wobbled into the living room. After a quick round of bottle feeding and changing diapers, Louis and Louise were placed in their cribs for an early bedtime. With them asleep, this allowed Adrien to do the few tasks he needed before retiring himself.

After a quick meal and a short five-minute shower, Adrien went through the apartment, turning off lights and making sure all the locks were in place. Once was done, the former model peeked his head into the nursery, relieved to find the twins were still asleep, and prayed that they would stay that way through the night until tomorrow morning. Closing the door behind him, he carefully walked the rest of the way to his bedroom, nudging the door close with his left foot before collapsing onto his bed and burrowing under his quilt.

Tomorrow morning couldn’t come any faster.

_______________

When the next morning came, Adrien was a ball of nerves. It was the first time the past thirteen months, he felt like there was someone who actually would listen to him and be there to help him instead of trying to take his life over. With that thought in mind, he couldn’t fall back asleep when he woke up at six am and was now pacing in the kitchen, feeling a lot better than yesterday.

He was about to stop pacing and check on the twins when there was a soft, muffled knock at the door. Opening it, he was met with his red-haired friend with a plastic bag of bakery items and a tray of Hot Chocolate. On her shoulder was a strap of a mahogany purse. From inside, a tip of white paper stuck out.

“It’s been so long,” he greeted as he gave her a one arm awkward hug. “How have you been and who is the father?”

“This little one is my boyfriends,” she explained, settling the items onto the table. “Along with the one on the phone yesterday who was calling for me.” Turning to him, she returned his bug. “But that is not the point. Where are my niece and nephew hiding at? Their auntie wants to see them.”

He went to respond but two little cries caused him to turn around and go take care of his twins. But before he could make a single step, a hand grabbed the back of his shirt. “Don’t even think about it,” Alya warned, leading him and pushing him into a pulled out chair. “Sit down and eat. You deserve a break. Let me see the little angels.

Smiling, he nodded. “Thank you, Al.”

“No problem, Sunshine,” she said, disappearing down the hallway, leaving Adrien alone.

Left alone, the young father rose to his feet and went over to the cabinet that the containers of baby formula and bottles. There would be no way for Alya to tend to both Louis and Louise and make bottles at the same time. While it only took a few brief moments to make a bottle, it was long enough for the twins to get impatient.

Making two quick bottles and settling them on the table, he just began to pull plates out for their breakfast when Alya appeared with Louis and Louise in tow. While his daughter was almost silent and only cooed softly, Louis was whimpering and whining as he sucked feverishly on his thumb.

Gently placing one twin into Adrien’s arms, Alya paused, eyeing the fresh bottle. “You didn’t have to do that,” she said as she slipped the nipple into Louise’s mouth. “Once I got the twins settled, I could have made their bottles.”

Smiling sheepishly, he shrugged weakly. “It’s not that hard and I knew how needy they could be.”

Humming in reply, she took the seat next to Adrien. “Now these two are settled,” she began, tapping her foot. “I have done some research that could help you with the future of Louis and Louise.”

Adrien looked up, interested. “What kind of research?”

“With childcare and other expenses.”

“How?”

“There are agencies that help pay for people to come in the home to raise children,” Alya explained, carefully leaning over to pull out some paper from her bag. “And there is another program that helps single parents or low-income families that can’t afford formula and other baby things.”

“My father isn’t going to like this,” Adrien said after a moment of thought. “He has always said that we are above the commoners of Paris and that we shouldn’t rely on welfare.”

“You aren’t your father!” Alya exclaimed softly, trying to reign her temper to avoid the twins from crying out. “Unlike your father, you have two little ones to feed and don’t have the vast wealth to use for every single thing.”

“I have my inheritance that I use to for child care and rent,” he replied sheepishly. “But that won’t last much longer with how expensive everything is.”

“What are you going to do when the money runs out?” the fiery redhead shot back. “How are you going to afford childcare and rent while attending college?”

“I don’t know…” He sighed. His friend did have a good point but Adrien knew nothing about of how or where to get in contact with people about a nanny. “But where am I going to find a nanny? I already have a good babysitter for the weekends and don’t want to replace her.”

“I will be able to help you,” Alya explained. “I know her personally and she is very good with my little Christopher. And that said babysitter can stay for the weekends and the agencies will help pay her too.”

“Thank you,” Adrien sighed, sounding pleased. “Thank you, Alya.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys. I’m sorry for taking so long to updating the series. Some things came up and plans got changed during this past week. But after much editing and rewriting that I finally got this one-shot written. While this took me awhile to update, I already have the start of the next part for the series started. It most likely will be a short five partner but I am not certain about that yet. Once I finished the first chapter, I will upload it for the next book. 
> 
> For another update, I have been thinking a tumblr account for all my works. There would be other fandoms beside Miraculous Ladybug once I finish the one shots that I have in progress. What do you guys think?
> 
> But anyway, thank you for taking time to read my one shot and comments are welcome. The more comments I get, the more inspiration that I get for writing.


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